Lack of Digital Capability Damaging for Charities

A recent report targeting 334 charities has shown that digital skills are generally considered to be very important in their campaigning and fundraising processes. It also demonstrates how many charities worry about their digital capabilities, and how this could set them behind their digitalised charitable competitors. When asked how important digital is to them, 69% of charities admitted that they could “do more with it,” suggesting that the limits of digital capability within this sector have yet to be fully explored.

In addition, 66% of charities interviewed considered digital to be “essential”, 30% found it “fairly important” and 5% said it would be “nice to have.” These figures demonstrate the incredible growth in technological development over the years. The 5% who don’t comprehend the importance of digital should take note of what they are missing out on, as Lucy Caldicott, director of fundraising at CLIC Sargent puts it, “Good quality digital communication has become an essential fundraising and relationship management tool and organisations who don’t make that shift will be left behind.” Charities should therefore be open to developing and exploring advances in technology, if it means an increase in donations or raises awareness of their cause.